Rewind: Revising the Astros' best and worst offseason moves

Updated 1:16 pm, Thursday, November 17, 2016

Photo: Howard Castleberry, Staff

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BEST: NOLAN RYAN, 1979

The Alvin native returned home as a free agent, becoming baseball's first $1 million player. The fireballer was worth the money, helping the Astros win two division titles in his nine seasons while leading the National League in strikeouts and ERA twice. Don't get us started on his departure.

Scott was struggling with the Mets when the Astros acquired him for Danny Heep. Scott turned his career around with the Astros, winning 16 or more games four times while mastering the split-finger fastball. He also won the Cy Young Award in 1986.

The Astros purchased his contract from the Cardinals, and "Cheo" promptly became a franchise icon over his 13 seasons in Houston. Upon his retirement, he was the franchise's all-time leader in numerous categories, and his No. 25 was later retired.

The former Yankees teammates joined the Astros a month apart and helped the team reach the next level. The Astros won a playoff series for the first time in 2004 and made the World Series a year later. Clemens won his seventh Cy Young Award in 2004.

The Astros cashed in on Florida's fire sale after its World Series win, getting Alou for three minor leaguers. He was a great addition, hitting 95 homers and driving in 346 runs in three seasons while hitting .331. Unfortunately, an offseason treadmill mishap cost him the entire 1999 season.

The Astros got him and reserve outfielder Mike Felder from Seattle for outfielder Eric Anthony. Hampton turned out to be the prize in the deal, going 48-21 from 1997-99 as the Astros won three straight NL Central titles. He was second in the 1999 NL Cy Young Award voting after a 22-4 season.

This is unquestionably the worst trade in franchise history. A two-time All-Star as an Astro, Morgan went on to a Hall of Fame career with the Reds. None of the players the Astros got (Tommy Helms, Lee May, Jimmy Stewart) compared to Morgan.

Cuellar was a strong arm on some bad Astros teams. After being traded to Baltimore in a multi-player deal, he had four 20-win seasons in the next six years and helped the Orioles reach three consecutive World Series. They won it all in 1970.

General manager Spec Richardson was fleeced by Montreal, and Staub, pictured here with owner Roy Hofheinz, turned into a star and fan favorite for the expansion Expos, becoming known as "Le Grande Orange." The Astros got zilch out of the deal.

He appeared in just 20 games before being shipped to Cleveland for Willie Blair and Eddie Taubansee, who did nothing as Astros. The speedy Lofton became one of baseball's best leadoff hitters with the Indians and enjoyed a long career.

In a monster 12-player trade, the Astros sent Caminiti (pictured) and Finley to San Diego. Caminiti thrived with the Padres, earning NL MVP honors in 1996, while Finley enjoyed a long career in the majors. The Astros didn't get too much out of their return other than a couple of decent years from Derek Bell.

Technically, this came days before the season started, but it backfired as Schilling became an ace in Philadelphia while the Astros got Jason Grimsley, who never pitched in Houston and was released a year later.